"I put my hand on my head and told (my coach), you know, 'I can't do this anymore,'" Brandon said. "I don't know what's wrong. I was dizzy. I was disoriented. I didn't know where I was at. I didn't know what I was doing. It was a scary time. I threw up a lot."

Brandon Steburg, Sr., Brandon's father, rushed from the stands to the field.

"By the time I got down there, he was already unconscious," Brandon's father said. "He had a grimace on his face and breathing real heavy. We couldn't get him to wake up."

Doctors temporarily removed part of Brandon's skull to relieve pressure on his brain, and he spent six days in a medically-induced coma.

He's grateful for the support and visitors at the hospital. The Papillion-La Vista senior said he was especially touched when his teammates carried his jersey onto the field during Friday's homecoming game.

"It made me cry," Brandon said. "It made me cry every single time I saw it. I watched so many videos. I saw so many posts."

"The prayers and all the support, and having his friends here I think has been a big part of him healing," his father said.

While Brandon is making progress, he said he hopes other athletes are careful with every play.

"Keep your head up," he said. "Don't tackle with your head down. It's just not good."

"I'm very thankful to be alive," Brandon added. "I'm very fortunate. I'm blessed by all my friends and family. Everybody praying for me. I've got plenty of people behind me."

Brandon had a CT scan Monday, and depending on the results of that, he could have surgery as early as this week to put part of the skull that was removed back. He said he'll stay in the hospital at least another few weeks for rehabilitation and hopes to return to school after that. His right eye also has nerve damage that could take up to a year to recover.

"The assessment went great. The doctors will and therapists will all get together on Monday and determine how long his rehab will be approximately. They all said he did well so we're hopeful we'll have him home soon," said Brandon's father.